Geneva summit: Presidents review developments, stress UN resolutions for a just peace in the Middle East
Syria-USA, Politics, 3/27/2000

Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and US President Bill Clinton held three round of talks yesterday in Geneva that lasted for 5 and a half hours and where Syria described these talkes as having centered on the Middle East peace process, its terms of reference, obstacles created by Israel, the importance of re-launching the Syrian track through maintaining Israel's complete withdrawal to the June 4, 1967 border lines and the need for border demarcation between the two sides on this basis.

The talks were attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara, US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and members of the Syrian and American delegations to the meeting. The following is the details of the Syrian- American summit which won worldwide attention:

The Syrian- US summit was opened on Sunday in Geneva at 3.00 p.m. (Damascus local time).

The first meeting between the two presidents was attended on the Syrian side by member of the ruling Baath Socialist Party's regional leadership and head of the national security office, Abdul Raouf al-Kasm; Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara, Syrian Foreign Ministry legal advisor Riad al-Dawoudi; Youssef Shakkour and Ibrahim Omar, members of the Syrian delegation to the Syrian-Israeli talks; and the foreign minister's adviser, Butheina Shaaban.

On the US side, the meeting was attended by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, US special envoy for the Middle East peace process Dennis Ross, White House staff chief John Podesta and the national security advisor for the Middle East, Bruce Rodbel.

Following this meeting, another was held between the two presidents. It was attended by al-Shara and Albright and a number of aids and advisers.

For the second time, the US president made a telephone call with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Israeli Radio said the telephone call was made during a short break in the American-Syrian summit in Geneva.

At 8.00 p.m., the two presidents resumed their summit talks.

The second meeting of the summit was attended by al-Shara, Albright and Ross.

Talks during this meeting dealt with Middle East peace process negotiations as well as the process' bases, its terms of reference and its course on the Syrian- Israeli track. The two sides also reviewed obstacles placed by Israel and the events of the Shepherdstown meeting.

Special attention was accorded to achieving a just and comprehensive peace on all tracks, especially the Syrian and Lebanese ones, in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions 242, 338 and the "land-for-peace" formula.

The Syrian president reiterated the importance of resuming negotiations on the Syrian track through Israel's total pullout of the Golan to the June 4, 1967 border lines and its demarcation on this ground.

Emphasis was also laid on the unity of the Syrian- Lebanese tracks for realizing a just solution to the cause of the Palestinian people with a view to realizing a comprehensive peace and attaining a durable stability in the Middle East.

The Syrian side expressed appreciation for efforts that US President Bill Clinton exerted to get the talks resumed on the Syrian- Israeli track.

The US president expressed gratitude for Syria's adherence to the peace process according to the Madrid terms of reference and relevant UN resolutions.

The two presidents thanked the government of Switzerland for the facilities it rendered to hold the summit, which was convened in proper climates.

Meanwhile, White House spokesman Joe Lockhart reported that Presidents al-Assad and Clinton resumed talks after a two-hour break.

SANA reported that Lockhart added that President Bill Clinton did not call Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak during the break, but he would brief him by phone on the results of the talks after they are completed. He refused to talk about the nature of talks or about their duration. He replied "yes" to a question on whether President Clinton intended to leave Geneva on Sunday evening. Later, following the end of the Geneva summit, Israel radio said Clinton made a phone call with Barak and briefed him on the outcome of the summit.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the US delegation announced the end of the summit at 8.30 p.m. local time, Sunday.

News reports said the summit between the two presidents would concentrate on reviving peace negotiations on the Syrian track, which were suspended as a result of the Israeli policy of deception with the aim of avoiding the implementation of international legitimacy resolutions which call for Israel's complete withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories.

Previous Stories:
  Diplomatic circles cautiously observe al-Assad - Clinton summit   (3/26/2000)
  On the Geneva summit   (3/26/2000)
  Al-Assad - Clinton summit in Geneva tomorrow   (3/25/2000)

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